The content of this topic has been archived on 19 Mar 2018. There are no obvious gaps in this topic, but there may still be some posts missing at the end.
Good day everyone,
Recently I've been thinking of manufacturing consumer grade routers that come with OpenWRT preinstalled. I'm here to ask if anyone has any previous experience with the matter, no piece of information is useless right now.
So far, I've been looking at a few Broadcom and Atheros chips (couldn't find any info on the pricing) but they seem like the main contenders.
Again, if you have any ideas or information on the matter just share it could be very valuable down the line.
I would prefer Broadcom over Atheros chipset. While on the subject, please design your router with USB2 ports and at least 8/32MB Flash/RAM.
someone else has already asked this forum what features they would like in the perfect router for openwrt. like you, I'm too lazy to search for that thread. good luck with your manufacturing project
Broadcom buttheads being so CLOSED with their drivers has caused headaches for years now.
Intel is well supported in Linux, would rather see Intel radios. Atheros I have no idea do they open-source drivers?
Mazilo: Any reason why? Also, do you have any idea where I'd be able to get my hand on a sample board to test?
cdiggity: http://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=15524 . It was around 10 topics below this one (still on the first page of the forum though). They dealt with the hardware perspective mostly. I was hoping to deal with the logistics of the whole situation here. You know, how to acquire the hardware, how to mass load OpenWRT on all the boards, case manufacturing etc. etc. That's the area where I have absolutely no clue on how to get started.
vincentfox: Atheros have released the code for their 802.11n products, but the main issue here is bringing OpenWRT to the masses and not building a little hacker box. Broadcom chips are supported well and seem like the way to go.
Guys, please let's not turn this into a strict hardware debate. I'm more interested in the process of manufacturing the routers than in individual hardware choices.
Mazilo: Any reason why? Also, do you have any idea where I'd be able to get my hand on a sample board to test?
cdiggity: http://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=15524 . It was around 10 topics below this one (still on the first page of the forum though). They dealt with the hardware perspective mostly. I was hoping to deal with the logistics of the whole situation here. You know, how to acquire the hardware, how to mass load OpenWRT on all the boards, case manufacturing etc. etc. That's the area where I have absolutely no clue on how to get started.
vincentfox: Atheros have released the code for their 802.11n products, but the main issue here is bringing OpenWRT to the masses and not building a little hacker box. Broadcom chips are supported well and seem like the way to go.
Guys, please let's not turn this into a strict hardware debate. I'm more interested in the process of manufacturing the routers than in individual hardware choices.
If you're interested in the purchase of large quantities of routers, there is a website you can go to in order to get some quotations.
http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?Sea … product_en
This website is for people who manufacture generic products, I assume that for a reasonable size of order they would be willing to manufacture to your own custom specifications. There's dozens of manufacturers listed there. No big brands, all cheap and cheerful Chinese companies I would guess. Then again I doubt any of the big brands would do anything but break wind and press delete on any inquiries of this sort.
(Last edited by DaBigMac on 12 Dec 2008, 02:26)
Mazilo: Any reason why? Also, do you have any idea where I'd be able to get my hand on a sample board to test?
No any particular reason. I haven't any idea of any sample board to test. That said, one can always get he real router, with the intended chipset, to play with.
The discussion might have continued from here.